Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper talks to reporters next to six boxes of petitions for a ballot initiative that would ask voters to split California into six separate states, before turning them into the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, in Sacramento, Calif. Draper delivered what he said were 44,000 signatures, of the 1.3 million the Six California's campaign plans to submit statewide this week. If enough signatures are verified, voters in November 2016 would be asked to divide the state into six states called Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper talks to reporters next to six boxes of petitions for a ballot initiative that would ask voters to split California into six separate states, before turning them ... more

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

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Heather Ditty, elections manager for the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, makes a quick inspection of some of the petitions turned in by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, left, that would place a ballot initiative before voters asking to split California into six separate states, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, in Sacramento, Calif. Draper delivered what he said were 44,000 signatures, of the 1.3 million the Six California's campaign plans to submit statewide this week. If enough signatures are verified, voters in November 2016 would be asked to divide the state into six states called Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less

Heather Ditty, elections manager for the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, makes a quick inspection of some of the petitions turned in by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, left, that would ... more

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

Image 15 of 16

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper talks to reporters next to six boxes of petitions for a ballot initiative that would ask voters to split California into six separate states, before turning them into the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, Tuesday, July 15, 2014, in Sacramento, Calif. Draper delivered what he said were 44,000 signatures, of the 1.3 million the Six California's campaign plans to submit statewide this week. If enough signatures are verified, voters in November 2016 would be asked to divide the state into six states called Jefferson, North California, Silicon Valley, Central California, West California and South California.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) less

Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper talks to reporters next to six boxes of petitions for a ballot initiative that would ask voters to split California into six separate states, before turning them ... more

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

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Is California dreaming of a 6-way split-up?

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Six times the fun?

Or six times the lawsuits, politicians, bureaucrats - and tax collectors?

The mind-boggling idea of splitting up California into a half dozen competing empires is now more than just fantasy - it's real politics.

Tim Draper, a wealthy Silicon Valley venture capitalist, already has spent $5.2 million pushing the plan and says he's got the signatures to put it before California voters in November 2016. Saying Sacramento has gone "rusty," Draper offers a sunny scenario of prosperity, more responsive local governments, and more local control to deliver jobs, education and services in his six dream states.

Critics are already calling the winners (flag-makers, lawyers, elected officials, Draper) and the losers (the rest of the state).

California State Librarian Greg Lucas - who was Draper's fraternity brother at Stanford University - says the multimillionaire is the latest in a long line of dreamers who thought they could persuade the voters, then the Legislature, and then Congress, to dissect the Golden State.

Back in 1858, proponents wanted to split off a chunk of Southern California and call it the Colorado Territory, an idea actually approved by Californians and their Legislature. Congress failed to ratify it because it was distracted by more pressing matters as the Civil War loomed.

Since then, there have been more than two dozen serious proposals. A plan to split California into three parts was actually passed by the state Assembly in 1992 with the backing of then-Speaker Willie Brown. He jokes today that it was the only way he could ever "get a shot" at being governor.

Lucas says 21st century California is a unique landscape - "the most diverse group of people that have ever been brought together as equals in the history of civilization."

"What I like best about California," he said, the "Six Californias" plan "kind of rejects: that we're too big, we're too diverse to be one cohesive state."

Draper says that diversity can't make up for what he calls an unfriendly business climate, failing schools and a crumbling infrastructure. "Our opponents - much like the Luddites - would have us sweep all this under the rug," he said.

So what would the landscape look like if Draper has his way?

Here's a closer look at his six states, the political terrain, the promises - and some of the crazier possibilities.

JEFFERSON: State would go to pot - as key to economy

Population: 949,409, 45th-largest in U.S., between Montana and Delaware.

Politics: GOP-friendly. President Obama lost the area to Mitt Romney in 2012, 49.4 percent to 46.2 percent.

Fun facts: The state flower could be the cannabis plant, since the new state contains the Emerald Triangle, believed to be the largest marijuana-producing area in the country.

Rundown: This isn't the first time around for the proposed state of Jefferson, a rural chunk of California's north that's been arguing for secession since before World War II.

Jefferson's complaint has always been that it's isolated from the rest of California and ignored by a state Legislature dominated by politicians from the mega-cities of the Bay Area and Southern California. Proponents have said Jefferson could deal with its own problems if only it were a state.

But the one-time economic mainstay, logging, isn't what it used to be, and tourism hasn't fully recovered from the recession.

The statehood question "is a lot more complicated than saying, 'Get rid of San Francisco and Los Angeles and we'll do our own thing here,' " said Charles Turner, a political science professor at Cal State Chico.

NORTH CALIFORNIA: Misfit Marin might start new move to secede

Population: 3.8 million, 28th-largest in U.S., between Oklahoma and Connecticut.

Fun facts: Between Napa and Sonoma wine and Nevada County marijuana, says libertarian radio host Patrick Dorinson, North California could corner the market on mood-changing substances.

Rundown: North California is pretty much Fun-afornia - it would include a stunning coastline, the Wine Country, the fishing-friendly delta and the ski resorts of Lake Tahoe. Tourism would be an economic bedrock.

North California's population would amount to just 10 percent of current California's, however, and there's a good chance that Marin County residents - who identify far more with San Francisco than Sacramento - would start their own secession movement to join the state of Silicon Valley.

And the cultural gulfs within North California might be a whole other problem.

"People will say, 'I want to be in Sacramento - and I have to talk to Marin?' " said Barbara O'Connor, professor emeritus of political communication at Cal State Sacramento.

SILICON VALLEY: Big-bucks party as state freed from bankrolling poor areas' services

Population: 6.8 million, 14th-largest in U.S., between Washington and Massachusetts.

State universities: UC Berkeley, UCSF, UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco State, San Jose State, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey.

Politics: Big blue. The 2012 vote for Obama was 74 percent.

Fun facts: With the tech-heavy economy, "Start Me Up" would make a good state song. And with the overall wealth, the state plant could be the money flower (Google it).

Rundown: They're already calling it Googlefornia, but no joke: The state of Silicon Valley would be the Mother Lode of tech and king of Old California.

The area's residents - who enjoy California's highest per-capita income - pay more per person in sales taxes, property taxes and income taxes than any other region of the current state. But if the state were split, they could stop paying those pesky levies for roads, bridges and schools in poorer areas like Jefferson and South California.

And there's more: As home to a crowd of great public universities, the state of Silicon Valley could charge outsiders for the privilege of attending those schools.

The downside: water. Silicon Valley would be one of the two new states that would be net importers. People in the Bay Area who now tap Hetch Hetchy and elsewhere in the Sierra would have to negotiate with the new state of Central California, home to those water riches.

On the political side, Democrats could celebrate. Silicon Valley would be so solidly blue that if it had been around in 2012, it would have been the highest-performing state in the country for President Obama, according to University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.

WEST CALIFORNIA: Wave of change would barely be noticed in L.A.

Population: 11.5 million, eighth-largest in U.S., between Ohio and Georgia.

Fun facts: The Rose Parade will now draw frozen Midwesterners to the West California sunshine.

Rundown: With a growing, racially diverse population, wide-ranging economy and national identity for sun, surf and movie stars, West California already looks like a state.

"There's no doubt West California is more viable than many of the states already in the union," said Fernando Guerra, a professor at Loyola Marymount University.

Don't expect many changes. Most of the state's environmental controls, work rules and other regulations were put in place with the enthusiastic support of liberal legislators from Los Angeles.

And if the new state's more conservative counties look at things differently, too bad. Los Angeles County has 15 cities with more than 100,000 residents. The rest of the new state would have four, all in Ventura County.

But declaring the region a state isn't going to magically erase the urban problems that Los Angeles has faced for decades, including a failing school system, declining infrastructure, and a growing gap between rich and poor.

Fun facts: Fresno might have a minor-league image, but it has a bigger population than Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland and Minneapolis. Central California would get custody of Old California's tallest waterfall (Yosemite Falls, 2,425 feet).

Rundown: The Central Valley is one of the world's most productive agricultural areas, and that won't change if it becomes a state. The nation's four top counties in agricultural sales are Fresno, Tulare, Kern and Merced - all in Central California. Farming and the host of businesses that support it are key to the area's economy, for better or worse.

"While agriculture is an incredibly profitable business overall, most of the jobs it produces are entry-level positions," said Nate Monroe, chair of the political science department at UC Merced.

That translates into an unemployment rate above 10 percent in much of the new state's farm belt. Central California's per capita income would be the lowest in the nation, about $150 less than Mississippi. Welfare spending is the highest among the six proposed states, and the area tops California in current state funding for local schools - money that will become a local responsibility if the region becomes a separate state.

Politically, Republicans would love the place. California's conservative midsection, which has long complained about the Bay Area and L.A. running things, would have a chance to shape its own destiny.

Six Californias "could hit 'reset' and allow the Central Valley to change," Monroe said. "It could open the possibility of easing regulatory rules to attract business from other new states."

What goes away? Maybe pollution controls, water rules, union-access rights and a host of what conservatives call "business-killing" regulations.

SOUTH CALIFORNIA: Disneyland and new status as swing state would mark sunny swath

Population: 10.8 million, eighth-largest in U.S., between Ohio and Georgia

Per capita income: $42,980, 25th in nation.

Largest cities: San Diego, Anaheim, Santa Ana

Landmarks: Disneyland, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo.

State universities: UC campuses in Riverside, Irvine and San Diego, Cal State campuses in Fullerton, San Bernardino, San Diego and San Marcos.

Politics: Swing state. President Obama won 50 percent of the vote in 2012.

Fun facts: State animal, no contest - Mickey Mouse.

Rundown: The mind boggles: South California is the state where Disneyland meets the Salton Sea.

Tourism is one reason South California would be at the top of the new states in taxable sales. Those totaled $157.5 billion in 2012, which amounts to $14,773 per person - representing more than a third of the area's per capita income.

But South California would have money problems in other areas. It has the current state's second-biggest share of Medi-Cal caseloads - one in four residents is on California's medical welfare program for low-income residents.

That's because the new state would be much more than the Magic Kingdom, Orange County beaches and La Jolla galleries. It sprawls into the Inland Empire, with its dusty suburbs, pockets of poverty and more conservative politics. It also has cities such as Santa Ana and Riverside, where the tourists don't go but where Latinos are transforming the culture.

South California does have something that some states to the north would lack: water. It's the only one of the proposed new states that borders on the Colorado River.

Politically, South California could become the Ohio of the West - split down the middle between Republicans and Democrats. That would make South California one of the Magic Kingdoms of presidential election years: lots and lots of living room visits and photo-op attention from presidential candidates asking for actual votes, not just money.

Republican Ron Nehring, a candidate for California lieutenant governor, says he'd love to live in a state where "one-party rule" isn't in effect. But he also calls the state split-up idea "highly speculative," saying it is clear that "Californians love being Californians."

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